Little Bird
by ponchakamunchaka
Summary: An insight on the life of Fareeha Amari, since her running around on the Overwatch headquarters up until her ascending in the skies.
1. Prologue

Ever since the day that particular Amari was born, she was trusted by her whole family with a duty that followed all of her predecessors, so it was no surprise. The Amari bloodline had heroes in all of it's generations, this one would be no different. Amari was a strong name, one name that would be kept among all others. It wouldn't bother this one Amari future's husband anyway; everyone knew that it had to be this way.

The life of the founding agents of Overwatch was, obviously, a mystery for people in general. It's not because they were very well exposed people, treated as the heroes of a generation that people would know about them in some way. The most were rumors, would them be about the most silly things or about something big, something that would cause even a disband. But as an Amari, Ana was very well aware of what she believed in, and she believed in justice.

Ever since her twenties, the woman who would be later know as one of the greatests snipers of a generation was tightly bounded to the mission of bringing Earth peace. Her country was no different from the rest of the world when the war first erupted. But as an Amari, as she well knew it, all the chaos was just a better excuse to keep fighting – to free the innocent from the claws of corruption.

But what exactly was corruption in that case?

Being in a organization that big was not one of the most great things as many would think – specially when you suppose you are on top of everything.

During her whole life, Ana was certain of her duty, of her objective as a member of the Amari bloodline. She would fight for those who couldn't fight, she would save them. But at what cost? Saving who exactly?

Nobody said it, but the war caused a very uncomfortable feeling in most of the agents. In her entire life, Ana thought she was certain of her duty, yes; but as much proud she was of her family's legacy, the woman started questioning herself whether she was really honoring it. Ana was tired of many years of fight, yes, but mostly she was...

"Ana. Ana, darling?"

Annoyed.

"Yes, what is it?"

"There's a call to you. From sergeant–"

She quickled opened her console and swiped it up to the transmission window. Her husband had a face with a bit of concern over her cold attitude, but that was usual of Ana. Sometimes.

"Got it."

She leaned over the counter of the living room, keeping her hand up in the right ear, with a rather sulky expression lit up on her face.

"Captain Amari at call, what is it?"

"... You know it's me, Ana. Quit the formalities."

She rolled her eyes. "And here I thought Reyes was the one used to run out of protocol."

"He is just a bit more... of action, if I could say."

She stayed silent for about 2 minutes before simple scoffing. The man kept the same stare as hers through the hologram.

"What is it then, Francis?"

He pouted, visibly annoyed.

"Eh, tech detected aaaaa _report_!" He seemed a little uneasy. "Uh _cough, _yes, a report. Something about an illegal trade of omnic components, I don't know. Nothing that matters that much."

Ana opened another window for map insight. He had already sent in the area information.

"Then why did you call me for something that doesn't matter that much?"

"They said the target is of no much harm, but it could easily escape. Besides, you are the nearest agent."

She sighed, turning off the holograms but still with the communicator in ear. That was actually a kind of day off, but as Morrison would say, 'You don't pass off duty'.

The woman opened her equipment case, gently picking up her Kinamura. One, two, three... how many lives did she take with that rifle? How many she couldn't count up in the heat of the battle? Was she going to end up adding another notch?

"And I also need to talk with you about something. Will you be free? Ana?"

She let a sigh go off, breathing heavely.

"Ana, darling?"

"What is it?!"

She growled, turning around rapidly, only to see Sam's pretty much scared face.

"... Your forgot the beans on the oven."

* * *

About 8 PM, Amari was already in between various tents in the night. The quantity was not a shock for her, as she've already seen what can a war do. She inspected the area ahead.

"I honestly didn't get it yet, Jack. Why do you insisted on bring me on this?"

"Gabe said it could be a potential birth of a global scale deal. You know, something that would bring up the world harm, shit like that."

"That is a very limited assumption."

Jack sighed again through the communicator. Gabriel has been acting strange ever since Morrison assumed the commander post. Neither Jack nor Ana would say they didn't trust their comrade, but both were growing suspicious of what Gabriel was up to. They knew he was a part of Blackwatch – the biggest one, by the way – but Jack felt like he could trust him nonetheless.

"He says it's a growing organization. Trafficking weapons, just when no one is in plain sight, in the middle of a place like this..." He scoffed. "Seems suspicious enough to me."

She leaned against a wall, with her arms crossed. A scoffing from Jack could be heard from the communicator, but Ana could see through why he was acting that way. It was just out of place for high a command agent be in a such 'urgent' duty out of nowhere.

"You're doing this for Gabriel."

"We have a mission to do, you know that. Stop it."

"I know how much you evaluate the team Jack, but we both know that Gabriel is just straight up something apart from that now! How can we be so sure of this info?"

"Just do as you're told, Amari."

She sighed, turning off the comunnicator. Ana picked her rifle and went to set in position in the roof of a building.

As her feet quietly went up in the night, her eyes detected the long gone beauty of the ruined building she was in. Lots of homeless people found the minimum of comfort in that place, involved in the only rags they could find among the wreckage. She stopped for a moment, the distant moon being the only source of light in that navy void.

What was exactly an Amari's duty? How privileged she was? Ana never felt the rush of glory everytime she took a life; instead, the only thing left was a bitter taste in her self, another notch in her Kinamura. The more she 'helped' people, more high budget bullets she spent. She could fire through an innocent in the same way she could fire through a guerrilla. _Was it really worth for?_

As the woman kept stepping up to reach for the roof, she heard a sultry sobbing in the floor, a faint light coming from behind her.

"You..."

She turned around.

"You are one of _the heroes_, aren't you?"

The question came from a middle aged woman, who held a faint lantern wrapped under dirty fabric alongside her own body. Ana gently approached her, kneeling right after – but taking a moment to think of what to say.

Ana tenderly smiled. "Yes, I am here to help you."

"Oh my..." The woman sobbed again. "Thank god..."

That was a rather awkward situation. Ana dealed with that kind before. But something seemed off in her insides. She didn't know what to say. Should she offer shelter? Food? What could she do in that moment besides shooting someone?

"My daughter... she has this acessory in her hair and—"

Ana's heart raced.

"There are people here that always leave at night, but I am worried she might not be able to get back..."

Amari stood still, carefully accommodating her rifle on her back.

"Don't worry. I will get her to safety."

* * *

Any sight of the sun was long gone already, with the whole ambience engulfed by a tender, but sorrowful tone of blue. A regular person could barely distinguish the still shadows from the moving ones, but an Amari was no regular person.

Ana was in another building, in one of the middle floors. She was set, her weapon perfectly pointed.

"Morrison on the line. Do you have any target in sight?"

"I am still trying to figure it out. Are you sure of that Jack?... I feel... That something might be off."

"Are you in danger? We can—"

"No, it's not that. These surrondings... They look too peaceful now. Not in the way you just thought of, but..."

"Ana, please. It's just another rogue, another deal. Nothing too much. _I trust Gabriel_. Heck, he might been even way more aware of these things than us."

She sighed, turning the communicator off and then focusing. Even though she could define the shadows as her potential targets, it was still difficult to properly distinguish them. One shot on the middle, she would have it under control.

Her eyes could detect silhouettes properly. Two adults? Probably. What she was worrying about? She had dealed with these situations before. Just scare them off, they will just feel a scratch.

And the, she pulled the trigger.

What the sniper could hear from a little afar, however, was a high pitched scream very unusual even to a _killer_ like her. Her heartbeat stepped up, as she recoiled bluntly. _Something went wrong_.

By the time she arrived at the location, the place was all blue dead again. She aimed for the middle, just expecting a shot that would do no more harm than _a headshot. _The case was left there, untouched. The dealer ran off. She had fullfiled her mission. But at what cost?

She called up a ship, reaching for the top of the build once again.

"Did... did you?..."

Ana stopped halfway throught the her destiny when in that same floor again; looking over her shoulder, and then away.

"I couldn't find anything."

"Oh... I... Maybe she just went to arrange food. People here do that..."

The sniper stood still, stone-harded in the night. Her eyes were all open up until the drying breeze obligated them to be closed. She gulped, dry swallowing.

"But, but are you sure of that?", the woman insisted, looking at her. "You could... call these fancy things... can't you?"

Ana stood froze for a moment. Her only reply was silence, ignoring the question and going up the stairs. The woman didn't protest – she just turned her lantern off, vanishing in the shadows.

Until reaching the floor, a small but fancy ship was awaiting. Morrison did evaluate his top agents. She had years of experience, she did deserve it, didn't she?

The sniper entered the ship, satting in it's large, horizontal black seat.

An uneasy sensation ran over all her body. With that misssion fulfilled, Ana probablu had prevented the harm of various people. Gabriel wouldn't do any shit as much of a weirdo he could be. She was doing just her duty, as any Amari would do. But at what cost?

"Good job, Amari."

The whole trip was silent, with the pilot leaving her on the nearest HQ of Overwatch when finished. Everything was deadly silent. The only thing with her now were the faint lights in the walls, and an ornament in her left hand.

Sam arrived right after, with a very worried expression in his face. He held his wife's hand, as he silently looked at her dead eyes. They stood still, like that, for a couple of minutes, only accompanied by loneliness.

"I was worried sick, you left without even saying anything, darling! I know this is a complicated job, but—"

She tenderly looked him in the eyes. But in the back of them, they were still filled with sorrow.

"Sam. I am fine Sam. It's nothing I'm not used to."

She let her hands off him, looking to other direction. Ana couldn't exactly do anything in her current state. Until she felt the ornament in her hand weight.

_"That is for_ me?"

Looking down, Ana could now see the person helding the thing, the big black eyes. A so light voice and thoughts, with a so heavy duty in her blood.

"_Yes, _habibti_. It's yours_."

The little girl perked.

"_But, mama, I don't like gold... you know I don't like those fancy things!..._"

The woman kneeled in front of the girl.

"_I know, little one..._"

"_But mama, why is it red?... Is it dirty?_"

"_It... it is._", she held over the ornaments in the child's bobbly hands, closing them like a sheel. "_I'm sorry."_

She smiled, some teeth missing.

"_Oh oh! It's a souvenir? Of battle? I love these!_"

The woman looked away.

"_It's just... a reminder that... that I—_" Ana froze, feeling Sam's look over her. "_That I love you, _habibti."

"Teehee!", the girl chuckled, as she hugged her mother. "_I love you, mama! You is my favorite hero_!"

"_It's you are, little bird._", Sam corrected, chuckling too. Ana stared at him, smiling weakly, and then at Faheera again.

"_I'm sure you will be a far greater hero than me._"


	2. Flip-flop Girl

The three last months have been a rush to every Overwatch agent now and then. The sudden grown up of a terrorist group greatly concerned the top agents, as they didn't even knew where it came from. Not only that, a sudden outburst of against-humans rebels also appeared out of nowhere. Funny enough, it also had various humans in it.

Actually, it was nothing an international organization like Overwatch couldn't take care of. The issue was that they've been dealing with way more smaller things before these just popped. Of course, this was a piece of cake when compared with the war. It still was a fuss, nonetheless.

In the middle of the silence, Reinhardt was the first to speak – which was something a little unusual. He striked the panel with fierce confidence, which seemed cool to him, but probably not to the rest. Gabriel jumped, Ana spit her tea, Torbjörn let a screech out and Jack barely winked. Reyes quickly changed his dazed face to an angry one.

"Bloody hell, Reinhardt, what is it?!"

"_MEINE FREUNDE!_ We are just ignoring the most important point here! That we are dealing with rats, not mice!"

Ana frowned a bit, mostly a confused frown.

"I don't get your point."

Reyes pouted. "Guess we are putting too much effort on it when that isn't necessary. If we don't focus on separated operations and keep a bigger one that in theory embraces all the problem, we'll be just waisting resources and specially time. This is not another Omnic war." He spread his arms over the panel. "We are combating it like it's a big scale problem when it's not."

Jack nodded. "Very wise says,Reyes.e" He says, to which the former first in-command responded with a sulky face. Reinhardt lifted a finger to say something, but immediately lowered it as he pouted.

"So." Amari started, "I suppose you think it's better that Blackwatch deals with it under the covers."

Reyes just bounced his head while crossing his arms.

She approached him carefully, with the rest of the team doing the same. Torbjörn grunted.

"And I'm curious, how would this thing of _yours_ deal with them?"

"Well, for starters..." He glared at Ana. "You should be the one doing it."

"I am what?" She was clearly offended. It was long before Ana added a notch to her rifle. She promptly refused to kill any living soul anymore, so mostly Gabriel assumed she was leaving the job for him.

"You know, Amari. It's not that I don't enjoy it", he smirked, "but you really think I would pass how you prefer to sit all day still in the base, and when you finally get in field the only thing you do is scream orders and check the perimeter?"

She scoffed, growling silently and lifting a finger to his chest. "Well, Reyes, as much as I want world peace, apparently not like YOU, I don't want to do it simply by the most gruesome way possibly. And besides that, I have a living now outside of that. Mostly you should be well aware of how's that." She finished, pompous.

"Oh, yeah, I do know how is that, but I don't use my offspring as—"

Torbjörn stepped up, grouch as he always was. "Could you all stop with this whining for once?! While we are here just discussing how non-focused our operations were, Talon is putting their dirty hands on God knows what!"

"The thing is we don't have a start point to that. We are just recovering the mess they are making up. But who knows how can we stop whatever they are planning?"

Reaper approached Jack, an evilish grin on the corner of his lips. "And that's why you should leave it to me, commander. While you deal with the omnic bullcrap, _we_ will see how can we get under Talon's skin. After all, I don't need to work the way you do."

Jack closed his eyes for some time, while Ana and Torbjörn kept staring Reyes until Morrison spoke up.

"Fine. If you want to deal with them, do it, but don't just get it all for yourself if there is any sudden suspect of something really bigger. We will see what we can do with the—"

Reinhardt slamed the panel once again, making all of them jump in a scare. "WE WILL SMASH THEM!" Winston had just entered the room with a tower of boxes which he had a hard time not making them all fall over the sudden scream.

"Oh-h ouh huh, don't— please, d-don't punch the panel that hard, lieutenant..."

Upon the arrival of the gorilla, Gabriel scoffed and tresspassed past the door, not before bumping in Winston and making him almost drop his boxes again while spitting out a scared sound. Torbjörn got off his chair following, with a muffled "I'm done here".

The gorilla scratched his head with one of his hands. Ana sighed, as Morrison started looking up some files backwards to them. Reinhardt started smoothing his beard.

"I-I'm sorry captain, have I interrupted something?"

"Oh, no", Amari calmed him down. "We just had a little argument, that's all. Because Reyes can't simple act like any normal being would, that edgelord..." She crossed her arms, offended.

Winston sighed, relieved. "Uh, ahn, captain, there is also a little girl in the reception wanting to see you, the secretary said he sent you a notification but your communicator was off."

Ana stared at him a little confused, mumbling a "What?" until her head clicked. Her eyes widened as she ran downstairs in a rush, making the gorilla drop his packages as she stumbled on him.

The whole room went silent as Winston awkwardly stood in the door, picking up his boxes.

"So, my comrades", Reinhardt paused. "Any of you _wand_ to go for some _bier_?"

* * *

One could say it was very out of place to see Ana Amari running like her life depended on it. Actually, it even contributed to a situation of mutual hysteria. Minor agents couldn't know everything that goes on the whole organization, so the most paranoids ones started running alongside Ana, fearing for the thing that could be dangerous enough to make one of the top agents of Overwatch run off. She didn't noticed it in the rush, but as soon as she reached the first floor, sweating off, she looked over her shoulder only to be surprised by a fair amount of agents behind her. Ana couldn't properly react to this. That organization really was the thing.

_"Ma allaena_— what are all of you even doing?! Go back to your posts!"

Some of them seemed relieved, some disappointed, some were just smirking of in the most stupid way by the rush of adrenaline by no reason at all. Ana swept sweat off her forehead. _I am surronded by idiots._

Finally, she gets the door open by simply waving her hand lightly in front of it. The opaque glass doors slide open to reveal from a little afar the figure Ana was just expecting. About 1,50m, or just barelly 5". A whole third of the _creature's_ back was covered by long, dark and fluffy hair that shone whenever light touched it. The _thing _was wearing a shirt too big for her size, in a dark cobalt color, with an Overwatch logo in it, and also oversized white shorts. Or to summarize, no sense of fashion at all. As any 9 year old kid would not have. Or any 36 year old Sam.

Yep. That is _definitely _Faheera.

Ana breathed heavily, leaning on her knees. The sparky child come over, her grimy flip flops clicking against the reflective white floor.

"This homeless brat appeared braging some nosense about wanting her mom", the receptionist leaned over the balcony, "She was getting in my nerves so—"

Ana stared at the man over her shoulder with the deadliest glare she could build up. He microscopically shrugged and grumbled something in some unknown languange, leaving right after.

"Mama, mama!", Fareeha cried, as she lifted her chubby hands wanting her mom's lap.

"_Oh, my sweet _Fareeha", Ana responded, with a loving smile that quickly dissipated in a annoyed face. "_What are you doing here?_"

"Mama,_ you promissed you would let me meet your friends!"_

Ana quickly rested her left elbow on her right hand, using the other to sinalize a no-no. "_I said that I would think about it._"

"_But mamaaa! I want to see them!_" She cried once again, her big black eyes glimmering with a pinch of tears.

Ana snouted, her brows almost going in a straight line above her eyes.

"_Okay, okay, _habibti, _we will see them. But first_", she kneeled, holding Fareeha's hands tightly and caringly. "_How did you got here_?"

She pouted. "_Papa brought me_."

_For fucking sake today's Ubers._ Or maybe just no Ubers at all, just the privileges of being a high-paid agent and having the most out of world services at your hand. Like traveling across the Mediterranean sea in one wink. Or just having a soft-hearted father like Sam.

"_So_," she smilled almost like she was going to have a spasm right after. "_Your papa just let you go from home to here. Alone?"_

"Ana, I may spoil her a bit, but I am not trying to kill her."

"I think it's better for you to stay leaned against that wall because if you ever dare to move, I will make sure to bury you in it."

He chuckled. "Classic Ana".

She scoffed, hiding a smile in the corner of her lips. "_Al'abalah."_

* * *

"OOOH_?_ Is that really our little Fareeha?! But how can a little girl be so big? Maybe because my hand is still bigger than yours! Hahaha!"

The little girl jumped in joy while the armored knight played with her. "_Asada! Asada!",_ she pointed, bathed in enthusiasm.

"Ana." Reinhardt stared at her with a poker face and puppy eyes. "Let me carry her."

Amari smiled. "No."

While Reinhard frowned out, Gabriel appeared right behind the kneeled man, popping a "Boo!" as Fareeha was taken by surprise and bursted in laughter. Gabriel straight took the little girl up to his lap tickling her, while Ana warm smiled and Reinhardt pouted.

"Aaaaahahahhah! _Stop it uncle Gabe_!"

"What? I can't understand you!"

"Stop!", she claimed, as he left her lying on the floor, sparkling with joy.

Jack stood still, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

"So, is that your responsibility now, Amari?"

She sighed, in the same state as Jack. "These random outbursts groups just sucked me out of home. Sam is mostly the one caring to her..."

She seemed a little frowned. In the outside, Jack couldn't appear less of a 'I don't give a fuck' face, but inside his guts his heart bleed because he really was a father after all.

"You could've said."

"Maybe you just forgot what my free days were for?" She launched him a grim.

They watched as Reinhardt and Gabriel chase the little girl, who ran way faster than both of them; her golden hair ornaments shining in the few rays of sun going down the salloon.

"I don't know, I'm a bit confused. It's not worth it going home from kilometers everyday. I could bring them with me, but... I don't know if she will react well to too much traveling..."

Jack sighed.

"Yeah, I know you're usually the one who just guesses people real worries, but I may try it and, you just really don't want her excited for any of this, right?"

Ana closed her eyes as her face stiffened.

"I've told her countless histories. I ended up fuelling her too ahead of what I've should." She sighed. "I don't know if I can hold her anymore."

She took a ciggarette from her pocket but Jack readily slapped her hands off the thing.

"With you slapping them around everytime I think I just got 2 in the night. I don't even know why I still try."

"Then maybe you should just dump it. It's not like you didn't decided to start smoking like, three months ago."

Ana hmpfed, giving Morrison the package. He opened the small metal case, crushing the cigarettes. In the middle of them, he endend up crushing a small picture too.

"Thanks, dumbass." Ana sweared, as she took the photo from him. It was the picture of a even younger Fareeha with her hands dirty in mud – all kneaded now.

"I know this does not seems the best option, but we really like her and she really like us. And specially now we will get even more busy here. I can arrange an accommodation for both of you."

She stood still for a second, thinking about it.

"I am... really afraid. I don't—", she hesitated, "I don't really want her to experience all those things!"

Ana sobbed, putting her hand over her face. Jack patted her back carefully.

"Mama! Mama don't cry!"

She looked over Fareeha.

"What— are you speaking english, little girl?"

She perked, her smile still missing some teeth; not the same ones as 3 years ago, though. "Uncle Gabe and _Asada_ can't understand me!", she pouted, squeezing her own cheeks. Gabriel just smirked over Ana while shrugging.

Amari stretched out a smile. "Maybe— we can get your language lessons here."


	3. Elders Lessons

"Say dog."

"Doug."

"Dog."

"Doh- oug."

"Do—"

"Do—"

"—g"

"—g"

"Say dog."

"Doug."

Ana rubbed her hands against the face, seated on a bed. Fareeha stood in front of the holographic board, with her always curious eyes. The girl occasionaly switchted from looking at the board to looking at her mother, legs crossed in a lotus shape and a pillow on her lap. The room Jack arranged for them was not the best one, but it was fairly comfortable and warm colored in orange. Besides, Amari didn't feel like getting a 3-star room just because she killed _some people_ there and there.

"Doooog."

"Good girl", the woman said, launching a slice of honeydew upward. Fareeha quickly acted, moving her torso so the piece could fall in right into her mouth. She chewed as the watery fruit filled her mouth with juice.

"You know we can just hire a private teacher, right?"

Jack stood in the doorway, arms crossed as he watched the scene. Particulary today, he was not wearing his outstanding blue overcoat. He almost seemed like a normal person.

"A teacher that will need to follow us everywhere? That must be more expensive than Gabriel's boxers."

"How do you know how expensive are Gabriel's— okay, nevermind. Point is..."

He signaled Ana to approach, which she reluctantly did. Fareeha observed them, curious.

"You've been trying to teach her how to say dough for the past three days."

"Dog."

"Dog", he noded.

"It's _doukh_, uncle Jack!"

"Douhk?"

"Dog."

"Doug."

"Are you getting her a pet or a bread? Oh, better, better: are you trying to get her a dog breed or a bread dog?"

"Die."

"I thought you were in a huff with Reyes?"

Ana pressed her lips, pushing Jack forward off the room with a faint chuckle.

"No, I'm serious Ana. We will do this as a team. Little Fareeha is part of our family."

She crossed her arms, a side smirk on her lips. It has been almost 2 weeks since Fareeha moved to the base. It was something temporary at first, as she was supposed to shift homes and go back to Sam 5 days ago, but the girl cried so loud that Ana's eye almost cracked. Her father have been in a rush too, so he was really relieved that the girl wanted to stay in the HQ; as much as he loved his daughter plenty, Sam spent most of the time busy at public service.

As for Jack, he had been always kind of a leader – Reyes was an excellent strategist; except for the fact he didn't take casualties into account. In the other hand, Jack could be a little too much of an overthinker and end up entangling the whole mission strategy. Point taken, he cared too much about endangered agents. Completely a 'dad' Morrison.

"I just don't want to spend the organization savings for Fareeha when she..."

Ana swallowed dry, looking at her feet. Jack didn't understand it, but as he always needed to establish his leadership, he pretended he did. His hand reached for the woman's shoulder. He smiled.

"We will figure something ourselves."

* * *

"AAAAHAHAHAHAH! So who is here for uncle Rein's classes?! Of course it is our little Fareeha!"

"More higher uncle Rein, more higher!"

"Reinhardt?"

He looked at Ana. She stretched her lips, pointing down. Reinhardt took the sign, pouting and putting Fareeha down.

The little girl lifted up her arms. "_Maratan 'ukhraa_!"

"No, no, _habibti_~ it's class time now!"

Ana picked up her daughter, sitting her in the bench. The girl didn't protest; she kept her large smile, pressing her chubby cheeks.

"So, _kleine_ Faheera!", he smiled, "What can I do for you?"

She rolled her eyes over, thinking, until they stopped in her mother.

"History", Ana whispered.

"Oh, oh, I want to hear hero histories!"

"Oooh", he approached, leaning himself on the table, which tilted a little. "You _zay_ the fights we had?"

"Yes! Please say me!"

"Tell, Faheera", Ana corrected.

"Of course! But first, let's arrange a nickname for you, shall we?"

She tilted her head. "Why?"

"Because... I will tell you a story of a very stronger soldier named—"

"Oh, Rein..." Ana mumbled. "This is supposed to be a school-thing. Don't... Make anything up, please."

He stared at her, approaching Ana and trying to lower his voice tone, but obviously failing because Reinhardt.

"All the details? Like, all of them...?"

She looked away.

"Just don't cut any gore."

* * *

The Amaris walked through the corridors alongside, with very distinct expressions from one another. Ana was clearly sulky, while Fareeha leaped like a happy frog, holdig her mother's hand.

"... And then uncle Rein just smashed the head of the robot off?"

Ana sighed, defeated. "Yes, Fareeha, uncle Rein did that to aaall the omnics."

The girl stopped, eyes widened, stiff face.

"That's just... AWESOME! When I grown up I will smash everyone just like uncle Rein!"

Her mother let her breath out again. Maybe it was probably just her age; Ana has been too paranoid since _always_. A kid had her right to be excited about everything. _Everything..._

"_Habibti_!" She suddenly exclaimed, as Fareeha widened her eyes. "What about doing a very veery nice thing? Way better than omnics!"

"What is it mama?! I want it!"

"Let's go there!"

* * *

"Mama."

"Yes, my love?"

"What are we doing?"

Ana kept stirring her bowl of dough while looking at Fareeha, who, on the other hand, looked very cheerless in her bun. They were in a little orange colored kitchen, a pack of ingredients in the balcony.

"Basbusa! You always loved basbusa!"

"I like it... but, you said this was more fun than playing soldier..."

"And isn't it?" she overly-smiled, "That's all the girls you age do!"

"But I don't want to cook mama! Uncle Rein don't cook!"

"He doesn't, but~", she said sweetly, kneeling over to put the batter in the cake pan Fareeha was holding, "Your uncle Gabe can make the best quesadillas anyone ever seen!"

Fareeha handed Ana the cake pan as soon as the woman got her hands free. She was not in anytime convinced. Ana sighed, putting the cake to the oven. She leaned against the balcony afterwards, frowning.

"Mama, I can't be a soldier?"

"_Habibti_", she smiled, "Being a soldier is not the nicest thing as it seems."

She kneeled over, taking Fareeha's hands gently.

"It's a hard, dangerous work. Sometimes, you'll be alone, and no uncle in the world, be it Gabe, Rein, Jack or Winston will be able to help you. And the same goes for your teammates."

"But", she protested curiously, tilting her head, "If they are my teammates, they will be always at my side, right?"

The woman frowns, worried sick. Her little bird is so pure, so innocent. She can't stand thinking about losing her; the mere thought makes her stomach churns. Of all things Ana could fear, Fareeha's destiny scared her the most. As she wanted her daughter to continue being her little bird forever, she also worried that her burning passion for justice would not just be a phase, but the Amari's blood acting up all again. Ana growls.

"There are times that you can't just guess what is going to happen; sometimes, you just have a job to do, withouth knowing how it will..."

She stops for a moment, caressing Fareeha's dazzling hair ornaments.

"... How it will come out."

Fareeha nods lightly, clearly touched by her mother's tone. She looks discouraged, obviously. Ana sighs.

"I am sure we can find something you like", she smilled.

Ana sits on a chair next to the counter, as she taps her laps, indicating Fareeha to sit on it. She hesitates for a moment, for the obvious reason of 'I am too grown up to those baby things mom!', but complies nonetheless.

"Have you thought of music?"

"Ohh, I like trap!", her eyes shine.

"... I don't think there's a instrument for this."

"Of course there is!"

They keep surfing through various images and videos, trying to find something Fareeha would be truly interested into. Animals, sports, shows, handicraft; they dip into the holograms as the little girl pretends to like some things so her mother's frown doesn't expand.

A faint sound whistles in the room.

"That is a beautiful forest, isn't it? I'm sure you would love to go hiking in one! Hear the birds chiping, the breeze..."

Fareeha sniffs. "This forest is firing mama?"

"What?—"

Ana stands for a moment until she clicks. She fastly put Fareeha in the ground, rushing to the oven. The basbusa is completely blackened as the toasted stink rises. She growls.

"Ugh! Whose idea was to use a manual oven in the middle of 21st century?!"

"Mama, it's catching fire!"

"Get it out!"

While Ana makes her way to find an extinguiser, a pressured Fareeha ends up trying to pick the thing with her bare hands. She cries in agony, which sends off Ana's alarm in the same time the fire preventing systems let off sprinkles of water all over the room.

* * *

"So... I'm assuming she drowned?"

The two of them were completely soaked, shivering with the lab's cold temperature.

"Oh, no, Dr. Carmalho, she..."

"Carvalho."

Ana stretch her eyes as her unamused face forms up.

"My hands!" Fareeha cries.

The doctor checks them up. _Damn, that's a lotta damage._

"Hmmm, we haven't had much burns lately. I will need to check for some regenerating lotion, wait a second."

They stood as Ana tried to calm down Fareeha. Despite all her pain, the curious girl went over the doctor's lab's balcony to find a dissected frog. Fareeha sticked out her tongue.

As the doctor applied the lotion into the girl's hands, the pain ceased and she could focus in her question.

"What you are doing with that frog?"

"Oh!" The woman sparks a bit. "It's a research in instant regenerative tissues. I can't make any progress even in the most complex equipments, because the cells seem to be bursting out whenever the nano—"

Ana interrupts her before the woman can end up telling her whole dissertation. "Oh, that is really wonderful Dr. Carnalho."

"Carvalho."

"Carvalho."

"Carfalyw."

Ana coughs. "So, what are your plannings in using it?"

Carvalho rolls her eyes without even hiding her impatience. "For wounded soldiers."

Fareeha eyes widen in surprise.

"Soldiers end up like that... froggy?"

The doctor yawns, while standing against the balcony, stretching some roll of bandage. "'Ree'ry 'uch."

Ana quickly turns her eyes to the girl, a light of hope striking into her worried mother's heart. She smirks as she feels Fareeha's stomach freezing. _Or not._

"I WILL HAVE ROBOT LIMBS! AWESOME!"


	4. Mecha Knight

That was one of the few days where Fareeha got to bed alone. In fact, her mother would come back in the middle of the night, sometimes; but not today. The girl sat in her bed for some time, and then stopped waving her feet in the air and finally set them on floor.

It's been a while since Fareeha got used to sleep with her mother. In the first trys, the girl would squint herself in the bed at a point that Ana continued awake the whole night. Her mother wasn't even there now, however, that may be the exact reason her little girl couldn't sleep right now.

The operation they were going to act in was probably being discussed for the past few days; Fareeha couldn't exactly confirm it, as she had a hard time understanding those fancy terms, but her mother's absence when Ana was obviously and constantly trying to convince the girl into anything other than guns had just pretty much confirmed it by itself as she barely saw her now. Not only that, Ana would always lock their room's door even if she was in there too; but she was in such a hurry these days that she probably forgot to do so.

Fareeha wrapped herself in a blanket, leaving her room barefoot – she could immediatelly feel the corridors even colder breeze sting into her shins as she did so. There were some lamps on the walls here and there that slightly illuminated the place, but her sight could still only see ahead a whole ambiance soaked in a grayish blue.

Her feet started going, with no exactly destination to arrive. Fareeha could feel the breeze tickling in her still-healing hands. In fact, she held the blanket delicately, so it wouldn't bother her too much. With the area becoming darker, she told herself, _Don't be afraid of the dark! Soldiers don't are afraid of the dark! _

Still, the little girl rushed to the elevator as fast as possible.

While the vertical cubicle took Fareeha across the other side of the base, she could witness the sun slowly rising somewhere; the sky finaly becaming to a light tone of blue, while a cozy tune played in the elevator. She sticked herself to the glass, as from the transparent walls the girl could see some people awake already; she could only count 2 or 3, however; she quickly went away from it, tough, as her hands uncomfortably tickled thanks to the recent burning.

Upon finally arriving at her destination – one more corridor – she could walk more tranquil now. Fareeha hated to admit it, but she still had the fears of a kid! She blowed a raspberry as she thought about it.

Finally, the little girl arrived at the main hall. As it would be no surprise at all, it was still empty. Or it was supposed to be.

The kid went down two flights of stairs, almost stumbling in her blanket. Right in front of the inside reception, a young girl was sat at the circular sofa between the two stairs.

Fareeha looked up at the hologram high in the reception wall. It was 5:24 AM. She pouted, rubbing her eyes; she expected her mother to be here already. She was worried.

Then, the tiredness started hitting, with her almost sleeping while standing. She could lay on the sofa, but... If there was something this "aspiring soldier" definitely was, it was shy. Not even in preschool Fareeha talked to the other children – she would prefer to talk to the birds.

She carefully approached the sofa. The girl sitting on it seemed really tall, though she had fairly shorter hair than Fareeha. It scared the later a bit how, at least from behind, the blonde didn't seen to move a muscle. Fareeha's eyes clicked, her mind seemed to already gave up to just stand there analyzing someone. She let out a _fairly _loud yawn. The girl gently looked over her shoulder.

_That was definitely awkward_. Fareeha forgot how she could end up attracting the stranger's attention and well, here she was. She was only familar talking with her family – which was mostly Overwatch, obviously – but she never ever got used to talk with strangers, at all. Which seemed a little suggestive to anyone that could saw her, as she stood froze in place, her eyes frozen.

"Um, what are you doing here?" The girl asked.

Fareeha looked away, holding her blanket tighter.

"Hey, don't be shy~ I wont bite. Come here."

Faltering for a moment, she finally gave up to her tired legs as she sat alongside the blonde; not too close, however. The unknown girl leaned over her own thighs, resting her hands on her knees.

"What's your name?"

The little girl finally looked at her after some moment hesitating. She had clear blue eyes, that denounced her tiredness as dark circles formed under them – a little like Fareeha's now, except the blonde's were way deeper. Besides that, she had very clear skin and a very bright hair, almost of the color of... mayonnaise, Fareeha could say. Nonetheless, she almost looked like...

"I'm Angela, but you can call me Angie." She perked.

"You are an angel?"

Angela stood still for a moment, her eyes widened in surprise for the unexpected question. After that, she let out a discreet chuckle, squeezing her eyes. Fareeha kept a straight face.

"You've not seen too many blonde girls—", she said, as she rested her face in her right hand, "— have you?"

"Umm..."

The teenager tilted her head, her eyes looking away for a moment. "Where are you from?"

"I think it's America?"

Angela stared at her as the girl's tone was fairly uncertain.

"No— Egypt. My mom is from Egypt. I think I grew on Egypt? But my father is not from Egypt. He hates speaking egyptian."

She chuckled at how many times the child repeated Egypt. "I think you mean arabic, no? There's not exactly an egyptian language, not that I want to tell you how to call it."

Fareeha peeked at her with the corner of her eyes, rapidly looking away right after, embarassed.

_Great, you would probably be a great pediatrician, Angela..._

They stood still in the now few-populated room, Angela watching the doors around constantly; until her glare stopped at an almost-sleeping Fareeha. She slide to the opposite side of the sofa. "You can lie down if you want".

Fareeha took a moment to click out of her sleepiness, straightening up and holding her light blue blanket firmly. "Ah— I can't! I have to stay in guard for when my mom come back!"

"Uh", Angela pouted. "Does she... is she a soldier?"

"Yes she is!" Fareeha's eyes glimmered in excitement. "When I grown up I will be a soldier just like her!" She said with truly enthusiasm, pretty much shouting. Noticing that the girl didn't respond, Fareeha decided to keep talking anyway. "Your mom is a soldier too?"

"Actually..." She swallowed dry, looking down and then covering her sad tone up right after. "I've come to see an uncle of mine. He's an engineer here."

"What is that?"

"He makes weapons."

"Is that true?! Can he make me one?"

"I don't think so—"

"Oh, oh, I know one he could make me already!" She pretty much didn't bother changing her loud tone, unlike Angela. "A guitar that makes _zoin zoin _and then just _BAAAAAM _and waves out the bad guys!"

Angela had a hard time trying to hold back her laughter, until she bursted out. Fareeha chuckled lightly alongside her, but shortly all of the girl's energy went to an yawn.

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep? You can lay your head in my lap if you want."

The girl looked her with a drowzy face, spreading herself out in the sofa as she lied her head in the other's girl lap.

"Thanks, Angie..."

"You're welcome, ahn... What's your name again?"

"_Habibti."_

"You're welcome, Habibti~" She said, smilling.

* * *

Gunshots were rampaging through the whole battlefield, taking down numerous soldiers. Some of them bursted in purple clouds a soon as they were hit, but the figure going through all of it without a single damage was no ordinary soldier. With a smirk, she leaped over it's enemies, neutralizating them with a single touch as they exploded in coral clouds of smoke. The soldier triumphantly standed over the battlefield, as most of the enemies were effortless clinched.

The more that were defeated, however, the more would appear. The non-ordinary soldier grited her teeth, suddenly surrounded by elite OPS soldiers holding cake pans in their hands. The figure frowned, standing in a defensive stance. What could she do now?

But as soon as this question went up her head, the clouds gave space for a light to shine through the sky, while an opera chorus sang. It was a slim flying girl, with very short mayonnaise-colored hair, and bright blue marble ball eyes. She hummed something like "Du bist wirklich müde, oder?" The figure glanced at the blonde stranger, almost ignoring her because she didn't get it; but that didn't matter to that angelical figure. She handed over the figure a bubblegum scented guitar, and left after patting the soldier from afar, stretching her own right hand bizarrely to do so.

As the soldier took the guitar weapon, a grim showed up in her face, and suddenly the figure was dressed up in a blanket. She ignored that though, focusing on how her feet ran around while the guitar splashed colorful rays all over her enemies. Nothing was left in the battlefield but smoke... And a very big shadow over her.

She looked up to see a giant woman picking the guitar away from her.

"Luebat alwaqt qad aintahat, habibti!"

The soldier frowned heavily, screaming to the skies and to the world.

"LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—"

Fareeha snapped out of the dream and back to reality, opening her eyes.

"—a."

She glanced over to the wall. 7 o'clock... She hoped that she would've sleep more.

Looking over the sofa, she found herself alone, leaving thoughts of how the girl she've met was probably just some kid of imaginary friend. She arranged herself, sitting on the sofa and right after standing in the cold floor, as the weather didn't seem to change much from an hour ago. There were more people roaming around the quarter now, some even looking intrigued at the girl, wondering what a child was doing there. She thought the others were just ignoring her, until her eyes catched what the spot of attention was.

"Any remaining bullet fragment?"

"This was definitely an explosive..."

Fareeha tilted her head. The medical team was rushing over one of the corridors with a stretcher, some of the medics and assistants around. A couple of employees tried to surround the patient, curious, but they were all backed off by an agent. In the middle of the confusion, Fareeha could finally spot a familiar face.

"Uncle Rein!" She rushed to him, leaving her blanket behind. "What happened?"

He sat in another stretcher, being managed by some few assistants who seemed to take care of some bruises and damage he suffered. "Oh, Fareeha! This is complicated..."

Fareeha eyes widened. "Where's my mom? Is she okay?"

"Your mom? She's—"

"I am telling you can't go in there yet!"

They looked over to see an familar young girl discussing with the security. To Reinhardt, she was someone he somewhat could remember being mentioned by Torbjörn.

"Is he okay at least? What happened?"

"I'm sorry miss, but you need to calm down. Chief Lindholm is being taken care of by the paramedics. We'll inform you his state soon."

She backed off, holding her own arms around her body with a stiffened expression. Fareeha came over her, patting her lower back as it was in closer reach. "Hey Angie, who's Lindholm?"

Reinhard looked at the stranger. "Wait, you are-"

"Fareeha?"

The girl immediately looked as she heard her name being called by her mother's vooce. Upon seeing Ana, she rushed immediately to hug her. "Mama! I were worried!"

The woman frowned, kneeling and patting her daughter's back. "It's okay, habibti, mama is okay..."

As she feel more secure about her mother, Fareeha fend away a little. "What happened mama? Everyone is okay?"

Ana looked at Reinhardt and the blonde, both of them with deep concern on their faces.

"I'm not sure..."

* * *

"Uncle Torby, what are you working in?"

It had been six months since the White Dome Operation accident that cost off Torbjörn's left eye and right arm. That was no excuse for him to sit down though, as the genius engineer built himself a newly prosthetics. Fareeha, in the other hand, only had her palms with faintly visible scars and no homework at all.

"Oh, this", he slighted covered the project, "I'm a bit off from missions since the last one, so I'm building as much things I can!"

He hammered the construction, as Fareeha startled a little.

Torbjörn glanced her. "And this one?"He approached her, whispering. "It was a deliver to you! From an giving angel~"

Her eyes glimmered. "Ohhh! Can I see it? Please please please?"

He chuckled. "Not yet, little girl. Go play around for a bit and then maybe I'll get finished."

She widened her eyes in excitement, a great smile puffing her cheeks. The girl ran off the room as fast as possible, going from room tto room at full speed until she found who she was looking for.

"REINHARDT!"

The sudden scream got the knight in a scare, as he choked on his beer, coughing a lot afterwards.

"Oh, little _cough _Fareeha! You gave me such a scare."

She smilled. "Sorry, it's because I'm sooo excited!"

"For what?" He pondered, taking a sip of his beer even if his throat was still tickling. "Oh, let me guess: is it something about becoming a soldier?"

"Well, maaaaybe? Uncle Torby said to me that he is going to give me something, and I'm sure it's an equipment!"

Reinhardt smirked, scratching his beard. "And you, with that tiny _tiny_ hands, will be a soldier shouting like this?"

She tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

The knight looked from side to side, to assure that Ana omnipresent glare wasn't in the room, and then he picked Fareeha up to his lap.

"Well, child, I will tell you _z_omething. If you want to go on shouting at the others when you are a soldier, you need to be strong! And fierce!"

Her eyes went somewhere, while she took a finger to the chin, thoughtfully. Finally, her head clicked and she look at Reinhardt with a full smile. "Just like you?!"

"Juuuust like uncle Rein! ROAAARR!"

Fareeha bursted in laughter, her cheeks colored in flush. The girl thrown her hands in Reinhardt's shoulders, with fascinated eyes. "Does that mean I need an armor?"

"Oh, oh! Exactly."

"But I don't know where to get one... Uncle Torby is already too busy!"

"And just who needs that _bauch_? We can do it ourselves!"

Her eyes sparkled. "Really really?"

"Really real, _meine freund_!"

"AWESOME!"

* * *

Ana whistled as she brushed her dark, soft hair. Most agents would reprimand her back in the day for not wearing it in a bun or in a ponytail, but this only gave her more reasons to brag herself about how the best sniper in the world just do her job with so many locks in her face. _Oh yeah, I am the 'guy'_.

As she left her room , she heard a discussion.

"Why won't you paint it white? It's way more STYLISH!"

"Uh-uh, blue is far more pretty!"

"But it isn't supposed to be pretty, you are supposed to be SCARY!"

"Reinhardt?"

He stiffened as he looked at the door to see Ana there. She crossed her arms, slightly curious, she had to admit.

"What are you doing?"

The two of them were sitted in a floor lined in various journals, with various pieces of cardboard and boxes alongside painting materials.

"Oh, we are making her a s—"

"WE ARE REPLICATING AN OLD FILM!"

Ana widened her eyes.

"Wait, what film?" he asked.

Fareeha glanced at him almost like she could cut through with her glare.

"OH, RIGHT, RIGHT! It's um, this film, ahh... OH YES! WE ARE MAKING A COSPLAY OF ALITA BATTLE ANGEL!"

Ana stood there for a moment, looking at him curiously.

"Isn't this film like, 30 years old?"

"I am uhhhh... I like old films! I watch them with ahnn..."

Fareeha looked at Reinhardt. Reinhardt looked back at her. And then both of them looked at Ana. And then Fareeha looked back at Reinhardt.

"I WATCH THEM WITH UNCLE REIN!"

"Hmm. Okay, then. Tell me a movie from the 20's you like."

"BATMAN!"

Reinhardt chuckled slightly, but he stopped as soon as Ana glare sticked to him.

"There's a new Batman movie every 10 years, Fareeha."

"But I'm talking about the uhhhhh 1920 one!"

"... Okaaaaay, you do have good choice, Fareeha", she mumbled as she didn't even tried to cover any bit of her sarcasm. "And which villain from this Alita movie you're cosplaying?"

Fareeha glanced again at Reinhardt. "Villain?..."

"It's a... It's an OC! Raptora!", shouted the man.

Ana tilted her head.

"Raptora?"

"YES, Raptora! The Mecha Knight!", Faheera shouted, as she stood. "She is Alita's best friend forever ever!"

"And she has a gun."

Fareeha swallowed dry. But Reinhardt glared at Ana. Since they situation at Istanbul, she pretty much went way overboard with her whole 'Trying to teach Fareeha other things than being a soldier', except this time she was just suffocating the girl at any moment she tried to comment something about the matter, but Ana knew this was stressing them both. She sighed.

"You know what is more cool than guns? Martial arts! Ahahah, how come I've never told you of martial arts?!"

"Can I do martial arts with a guitar?"

"What?—"

"Oh OH! It's just perfect! RAPTORA, THE MECHA KARATE KNIGHT!"

She shrugged.

* * *

"Hello, chief Lindholm."

The bearded man look at the door as a figure standed in his workshop. She was wearing a roughly blue armor made out of cardboard, with some details made in yellow highlighter. Her mask was just straight up an agent's one stole from someone.

"I heard you had called for me; the Mecha Karate Knight", she posed, "RAPTORA!"

He looked at her with a serious tone in his face. She sweated as his glare made her feel awkward.

"Yes, Raptora, it seems your equipment has yet to be upgraded. Lucky for you, I, Toblerone, the Mountain Smith, had been working on them."

He handed the girl a guitar. Not just a guitar, but a guitar that had the most cool design she has ever saw. It's surface looked more like an robot armor than the regular guitars that had thin and reflective material, as it had various minor details in it's light blue plates. There were some lines that would even glow pink from time to time. Her eyes glimmered.

"And not only that, I have something else..."

He approached Raptora, as she stood there before clicking and kneeling, much for a grunt from Toblerone. He took off her helmet.

"So it is you, Josalina Josafina, eh? Well, this will be a perfect fit."

Actually, it wasn't. The mecha helmet was a little too oversized for her head, as her eyes couldn't even reach the visor properly. But it was the most badass thing she saw in the day, so Raptora didn't care. She was a complete Mecha Knight now.

"We ensure the security of the music world in you, Raptora", Toblerone said as he gave a thumbs up and lifted his mask. "Or I could say, Josalina."

She nodded lightly, her serious but confident countenance. "And I trust you to the world's smithing, Torbjorge."

They saluted each other as Raptora left his room, the guitar in her hands.

"I, RAPTORA, THE MECHA KARATE GUITARRIST KNIGHT, WILL SAVE THE WORLD!"

The fierce hero rushed as she bumped into Reinhardt accidentaly, shouting an 'Aw!' because she couldn't see thanks to the oversized helmet.


	5. The Talk

"Do... Re... does it works this way_? _Ahhh... Bribri! Say do-re-mi!"

"_Buh"_

She stared.

"That's okay, I only started talking when I was 4!"

Fareeha gently tapped the tuning pegs, that immediately rotated themselves, much to her surprise. The girl let out a loud "Wow!" as she delicately checked the strings, playing some notes she had no idea of which one was one. Her fingers kept running across the guitar's neck, as she hummed some murmurs.

"Bribri, what song I should play?"

The baby drooled a line of saliva that wet her bib, as she vigorously laughed afterwards.

"... Uh, okay, let me see if this works..."

She sucked air in and prepared to play.

"HAHAHAABAHAHAHHAHA BLUUUUUUUBLUBLUBLU!"

The baby stared at her with an unsettled expression in face.

"Oh yea? Do you have any better suggestion?" She said as she stuck her tongue out.

A chuckle was heard. "I see you are having fun with little Brigitte."

"Aunt Ingrid! Ahn" She looked away for a while, as the tall blonde entered the room. "Uncle Torby asked me to look over her for a while, so I decided to play her some music. Because... well, my guitar is here and all anyway."

As she said that, Fareeha swing her hand over the guitar's strings, playing a long note. Ingrid chuckled, carrying her child right after and cleaning Brigitte's face.

"Oh, Torbjörn is always leaving this girl in his workshops!" She looked over Fareeha with a smirk. "He has done this for all the others and they still don't have any interest in smithing..."

"That is a little funny. My mom don't want me to be a soldier, even though I came from a family of soldiers..."

"Well, little Fa..." She said, as she sat next to her. "Sometimes, mothers just want the best for their children... I'm sure that Ana just wants your safety."

She ran her fingers through Fareeha's hair gently, getting a faint chuckle from the girl. However, her face immediately changed to a frowned one.

"I know that, but she just... pushes me too hard! With other things..."

"Well, maybe you can deviate a little?" She winked. "Just do something you like almost as the dream of being a soldier, and maybe then you could distract her! Do the talk!"

She tilted her head. "The talk?..."

"Well, It's not that you would hide what you really want, but she can calm down if you don't show you are so interested in being a soldier as it seems. After all, when you grow up to an adult you will be in control of your life."

"You're right, aunt Ingrid! Thank you so much!" She said, hugging the woman right after, who smiled." Soo... would you care if Brigitte grown up to be a soldier?"

"Hmm..." Ingrid looked away, thinking. "I have so many children and none of them do that... Well, I wouldn't mind. She would have the greatest soldiers at her side. Like you!"

Fareeha flushed. "Uhh, like me as I would have too, or that I would be a great one too?"

"Guess it."

She stopped for a moment, until her head clicked.

"Awnn, thank you so much aunt! You're the best! Oh-oh! And dont worry! Brigitte will see the best soldier of me!", she shouted, as she proudly showed of her tiny muscles.

"Oh, you're welcome, _korë_. You just need to—"

"Oh! I'm late to the karate lesson!" Fareeha suddenly realized, as she picked up her guitar. "I gotta go!"

The girl rushed out of the room as she went throught the corridors.

Ingrid frowned.

"Well... just as your dad, _isn't that right, lilla du?_"

"Buh"

* * *

Ana sat with her legs crossed in one of the dojo seats, sipping from her tea. Fareeha was 7 minutes late already.

The woman closed her eyes, as she kept waving her right leg.

The girl immediately entered the room, with her kimono worn inside out and sweat pouring from her hair.

Ana lowered her tea-cup, opening only one of her eyes; the right one, tattoed with an Eye of Horus under it.

"Seems like you've did some warm-up already."

She left her saucer and cup in a balcony next to her, standing up right after and taking a few steps. They bowed to each other, as Ana looked down on her daughter's feet.

"You have your shoes on."

"Oh!", the girl exclaimed, awkwardly taking her slippers off and throwing them out of the tatami mat.

Ana glared at her. "Fareeha."

She looked away. "Uhh, aren't we too late already?..."

"In fact", she rolled up her sleeves, "I should make you sweep all this room afterwards."

Fareeha swallowed dry.

"Let us begin."

* * *

The girl quickly took a gulp of her bottle of water, feeling immediately refreshed as soon as the liquid made it's way down her throat. Today's lesson was a hard one indeed; Ana was know as a teacher who wouldn't take it easy, even if it was her daughter.

Ana stood still, with her fingers crossed, an unsettling glare in her eyes. Fareeha noticed that, as she glanced over Ana. She uncomfortably finished her bottle and proceeded to bow afterwards. With the reverence done, Ana handed the girl a broom.

She sighed.

"Mooom, can't we just pass this? I won't get late again..."

"Care to explain to me why you were late then?"

Fareeha loudly snorted.

"You do NOT snort to me, girl!"

"Ugh! I was just in the middle of something!"

"Well", she crossed her arms, "When you are at the army, you should no be late. Ever. You really want to be a soldier like this?"

The girl pouted, her fierce eyes looking up her mother. Suddenly, Ingrid's words made their way throught Fareeha's mind, making her face shine a little.

"Well, actually..." She crossed her arms just like her mother's. "I was in the middle of checking something, becaaaause... I want a baby!"

Ana continued silent.

"... Pleease?"

"Hah", she scoffed, leaning one of her hands over her chest, like she was indignant. "A baby? Do you even know how do you get a baby, Fareeha?"

"Of course I do!" The girl cried, immediately responding. "And I am willing to do it as much as I am to become a soldier!"

Her mother smirked, gradually wenting from a chuckle to a bursted laughter. "AHAHAHAH, haha, ahh, Fareeha... You really are a comedian, are you not? A baby? You? Do me a favour, girl, go play with your baby things, or guns, whatever... Oh, a baby... Give me a break!"

Fareeha startled, looking her at mother still laughing, as the girl silently left the room backwards – glancing at the broom as she left it next to the doorway.

"Ok... I am... going? B-Bye!", she said, as she rushed out of the dojo.

"A baby." Ana thought out loud, leaning against the balcony as she waved her head backwards. "A baby! Ahahah... ahah... hah... Baby..."

She stopped for a moment, keeping her eyes closed and her hand froze in her stomach.

Suddenly, she turned to the balcony, placing her elbows in it; opening up the holograms as fast as possible, quickly tiping, even almost stumbling in her tea-cup as doing so in the rush.

As she stood still again, the refreshing signal in the hologram stopped, as the 'Waiting for recipient's response' changed to a friendly 'Recipient sucessfuly contacted. Opening the call'.

An unsettled face appeared in the surface. "Ana? What's wrong? Did something happened? You only contact me when there's something urgent!"

"Sam..."

"... And to be honest, I am kind of busy right now, I mean, I have this ton of files to check over some NGO's requests!"

"... Sam."

"I'm not saying that I can't do it right now, but an emergence message would do the trick more properly, you know? Actually, no, calls are already emergency enough!" He widened his eyes. "Is Fareeha ok? Last time she was here she got pox and-and I—"

"Samuel."

He stiffened, looking at her again while she pressed the her nose bridge with the right hand.

"You—", she leaned her hand over the screen, "Did you had _the talk_ with her?"

He approached the screen, tilting his head and pressing his eyes. "Talk?..."

"You know." She looked away, "The talk."

"I have no idea of what you're saying."

"About SEX! For the love of—"

They looked over the doorway as Jack stood there.

"...Am I interrupting something?"

"Ahnn", she glanced at Sam. "Nothing! Just... just family talk. I just went a little overboard."

Jack let his breath out. "Okay, I'll need you in the main room at three. Oh, good to see you Sam."

He waved. "My pleasure, Mr. Morrison."

Ana looked from Sam to Jack, noding nervously. Jack widened his eyes, a little unsettled, as he gave a thumbs-up and left the doorway.

Ana sighed, slowly turning to the screen again.

"What the shi— what are you on about, Ana? Why this all of sudden?"

"I take", she approached the screen intimidatingly, leaning her right hand in her hip and the other in the balcony, "That you didn't had the talk."

"Of course I didn't, for the love of— she's 9, Ana!"

"She is 11 already!"

He sighed. "She _was_ 9."

"And besides, this should be talked about since she can understand someone touching her!"

"Well, why didn't you do it?"

"I was probably busy doing, I don't know, saving the world?! You were the one looking after her!"

"Okay, maybe I should have done it, but you reaaally think you are the only one busy here? Just—", he picked up a book with half the thickness of a finger, "That's how much I deal with! In a WEEK!"

"Alright, alright, sir 'Please contact me later', I got it."

"And besides that", he approached the screen, "I didn't do it because I thought you should do it, because— she's a girl!"

Ana moved a bit away from the hologram, crossing her arms. "Okay, okay, you're right", she waved her head, eyes closed. "I should have done it—", the woman suddenly approached the screen again, "But you could've reminded me!"

"What is all this fuss about anyway? Did she—", he lowered his voice, "Hit puberty?"

"She wants a baby."

He straightened himself, widening his eyes a little.

"A baby."

Ana nodded.

"And what makes you think that she is—"

"She said it!"

He kept looking at her with a stiffened face.

"lol bye"

"Sam!—", she tried recalling immediately. "Urgh!"

She leaned against the balcony once again, taking just the teacup and sipping, the liquid already cooled.

"Okay Ana", she breathed in, putting the cup back in the saucer anyhow, "You can do it, no big deal. I mean, your mother didn't—", she hold back, breathing in and out heavily once, "Fareeha needs it. And you'll do it. For her."

She sighed, going for a change of clothes.

* * *

"Bribri, you shouldn't be putting this in your mouth!"

Fareeha took the screwdriver away from her, which immediately sent the baby crying.

"Ok ok, eat it if you want!" Fareeha mumbled, giving the tool back to the redheaded child as she chewed the holding part. "But don't say that I didn't warned you!"

"Fareeha?"

Ana stood in the doorway, dressed in her classic uniform as she had a worried expression in her face.

"Oh, mama! Ahnn", she murmmed nervously. "... Did I forgot something?..."

Ana sat next to her, looking at the baby and then at her daughter.

"We need to talk."

Fareeha swallowed dry.

"You see, _habibti_... there's a whole process before... becoming an adult, which is when you can truly have a baby."

She tilted her head, confused.

"And before that, comes the teenage, that you'll notice as soon as you start bleeding in—"

"I know that!" She protested, flushing. "Mrs. Zeta told me!"

"And the heavier ones? Like, when the girl and the boy really like each other and—"

"Mooom!" She cried.

Ana let out a sigh of relief, "Well, very well, then."

They stared at each other; Ana, with a worried expression in her face, and Fareeha, with an unsettled one in hers.

"There is an even heavier part, that revolves around more in the... non-physical part."

Fareeha made a disgusted face as Brigitte let out a "Bleh" in the air.

Ana sighed, leaning closer.

"_Habibit_, it's just— when you want to have a baby, you need to deal with a lot of responsability. Don't you see aunt Ingrid? She's always carrying babies around with her hair all messed up, while Torbjörn does nothing all day!"

"What?"

"_Ahem_", she coughed. "I may have went a little afar from the point, but..."

The woman breathed in again.

"Sometimes", she held Fareeha's hands, "The problem is doing what comes before that. You may not like it, it may just... screw your life over! All of that because of the person you could end up picking."

Fareeha pressed her eyes, thinking.

"And sometimes, even when you..." She took a moment to pick up a deep breath. "When you don't want to _do it_—"

"Wait wait wait", Fareeha waved her hands, eyes closed. "You thought that I want to _do that_?"

Ana widened her eyes in surprise. "You said you wanted to have a baby!"

"No! DISGUSTING! I don't ever never want to date someone in my life! Bleh bleh bleh!"

"But... but— you just wanted a sister, then?"

"What? No no! Aunt Ingrid just told me that I could do something besides being a soldier, and then you were all angry over me, so I just said anything!"

"Why did you wanted a baby, then?"

"Ohh", Fareeha rolled her eyes, thinking. "I don't know if I want a sister, but I really like Bribri so... It was the first thing that went in my head."

Ana showed a warm smile, her eyes watering a little. "Oh, my sweet Fareeha..."

She went to hug her daughter, much to the girl's disapproval.

"Mooom, you're squeezing me!"

"Oh!", she stopped, recomposing.

They stood silent.

"So, are you sure you are not into someone, hmm?"

"What? No!"

"Not even a girl, eh? You couldn't stop talking about Angela!"

"Mooom, stop it! She just helped me get a guitar, that is all!"

Ana chuckled, as she ran her fingers through Fareeha's jet black hair.

"Well, I heard that maybe she—"

They were caught in surprise as a loud noise took their attention, followed by a foul smell and a baby crying.

"Oh!" Ana stood up, capping her nose; and soon, Fareeha did the same.

"Oh! Oh my—", she approached Brigitte, picking her up and checking her diappers. "Oh my!— Ugh, you are a stinky one, aren't you? Oh..."

"You don't want me to call aunt Ingrid, mama?" She said in a funny voice because of her nose.

"Oh, no." Ana walked a few steps to the door as she carried Brigitte. "I need you to do something else."

She tilted her head. "What is it?"

Ana looked her over the shoulder, a deadly glare in her eyes.

"Go sweep the room."


	6. Best Apprentice

_Between the shadows of the trees, a knight wandered. Though no one could see his face, every villager now and then could recognize his silhouette – the Grim Reaper, a men of mind, but a man of no heart._

_The solitary trail was the only company to the mysterious Reaper. He had been going from town to town, searching for shelter... but no one would open their door! The presence of that stranger was said to bring calamity and even death to those who lived in a house we was let in._

_His long, black coat would not allow even the strongest of the winds to lift it, preserving any other sight over his unknow appearance._

_There was a time that a famine came across a small village, close to the abandonated castle of a king who once feed all of his people! But that was long, long ago already._

_A particular family still had oil to lit their lamps up, the only house in that darkned village that would sparks it's insides. There lived a knight – and his loyal squire._

_The two were in such a hunger, it was driving both of them crazy! How could the brave knights protect their home if—_

"But wait, how are they a family if they are only two knights?"

"Wha— Of course they can be a family! Aren't we all a family?"

"... Yeah!"

Anyway... _They were really starving. The older knight, a man that fought into various battles even inside his former king's castle, would drink up every beer they found in some old stocks of the house! This made the squire, a young girl, really mad! So in revenge, she ended up drinking all the rest. _

"Buh"

_And now they were in the red._

_Wondering how they could not only save their bellies, but also how could they assist the rest of village, the two knights were caught in a sy heard a polite knock on their door. The squire promptly picked up her sword, while the other knight set his shield ahead of them. He slowly approached the door, turning the knob._

_It was none person other than the Grim Reaper himself! The girl didn't know who was this figure, but she kept standing in an offensive position if anything happened. The older knight, in the other hand, knew who this infamous creature was; however, he let the stranger enter the house as he asked for shelter._

_The squire quickly went to question her friend about it, fearing that unknow danger could fly right behind their back!_

_But he didn't say anything. In his heart, that man could be suffering as much as the whole village, searching for a place to sleep at for so long!_

_As they argued, the lights suddenly went off. The knights hearts raced as they were in the dark, holding each other so they wouldn't be alone. Mysterious faint lights appeared in some bits of the dark, and when they realized, it was forming a trail!_

_With no place else to go, the two followed the orange lights. It even looked like the tiny house didn't exist anymore – they were straight in a field now!_

_Fearing for the worst, they held each other's hands. Until all the lights lit up and revealed..._

Fareeha's eyes widened in curiosity.

"THE BEST SOUP THEY EVER TASTED!"

Both Fareeha and Reinhardt looked at the woman, unsettled.

"Weeeell it was not a sou—"

"Yes it was! Soldiers love nothing more than fresh, delicious food waiting for them after a long battle!"

"_Ja, _but you definitely won't want to taste Ana's!" He winked at Fareeha, who tried to force a chuckle but failed.

She glared at him, pompous.

"That is why... Fareeha is learning to cook!"

The girl nearly winked, looking up her mother with disdain in the eyes, arms crossed.

"Yeah mom!" She rolled her eyes, unamused. "You made me make dinner for you for a whole week instead of just going to the cafeteria! And now I can't even sit to hear uncle Rein's histories without you just jumping in to say how the braaave knight cleaned the floor until it shone?"

She completely ignored the last part, faking a smile. "But Fareeha, you know a cafeteria is for coffee, and I like tea!"

Fareeha growled, standing up and leaving the room in heavy steps. Brigitte let out a sad cry as she squirmed in her godfather's arms, almost dropping her screwdriver. He standed up.

"What has gotten into you?"

She shrugged. "Well, what was gotten into you to be thinking you can just tell her any history?"

Reinhardt sighed, a serious look in his face. He even had a low voice tone.

"You can't just keep pruning the girl like this, Ana. In fact, she can't even stand near you lately, have you noticed that?"

"She just got into puberty."

He chuckled, indignant.

"Okay, that— that was the limit. You need to stop it, Ana! Just let the girl be!"

"And what do you know about children?"

"I know that no matter were I hide this screwdriver, Brigitte will find it and toss it right inside her mouth! So why bother hiding if she's going to chew it anyway?"

Ana crossed her arms. "That didn't even do a pinch of sense "

"And what you're doing does even less! You're becaming too paranoid!"

She stared him, her eyes widened. Finally, she gave up, sitting down and resting her tired face in her hand.

"You're right." She snorts. "I dont know what to do."

He took a seat alongside the woman, placing his hand in her shoulder.

"If you wanted someone to do your dinner, why not ask Gabriel?"

"Are you crazy?!" She whispered, a low tone filled with caution. "He may want to roast me if I asked him that!"

"But then why are you so eager to get Fareeha to cook?"

"I don't know, I'm a terrible cooker so I had a bad time in mission sometimes..."

He stares at her, sceptical.

"Do you just heard what you said?"

"What?"

He sighs, putting Brigitte in the ground as she clumsy walks away chewing her screwdriver.

"You seem a little _gestresset_ after all those smaller operations in the east, friend. How about we go out?"

"Oh!" She chuckles, warmed by the unexpected invite. "Well, you know what I say..."

"Oh for the love of— I can hire a jet if you don't want to spend your money in vacation!"

Ana is sat with crossed arms, smirking at Reinhardt. She lightly waves her head.

"Oh, you don't want me to..."

"Come on!" She approaches him excitedly, leaning her hands on his arm. "I heard from Torbjörn that your curry is the best!"

"You know that currywurst is not the same as—"

Her eyes dazzle as a puppy's.

"_Pleease_?"

He snorts. "Okay, but..." He quickly picks updated a paper and pen from his pocket and write a few things, leaning it against his thigh. "You better go get it."

He hands Ana the paper, as she immediately gives him a smirk once reading the contents. Standing up, her feet get her across the hall.

"DON'T YOU DARE PICKING THEM FROM THE CAFETERIA!"

"I SWEAR BY MY HUSBAND THAT I WON'T!"

He vigorously laughs as she walks alway.

And then his head clicks.

"Wait, isn't she— BRIGITTE GET THAT AWAY FROM YOUR MOUTH!"

* * *

_Chop chop chop_, the vegetables were angrily cutten by the girl. Her hand firmly held the knife, sliding and slicing the vegetables with no effort at all. Making lunch was now a everyday routine for Fareeha, since Ana pestered her about it so much. She said that a soldier, first and foremost, should be first doing housework and not picking a pistol right away. _No sense! _Where's_ the sense in that?!_

Her hand delicately stirred one of the pots in the stoven, filled with chickpeas and water. She didn't even liked chickpeas besides in humus, but Ana said... It was healthier. She just probably like chickpeas.

That really sucked.

"Hey"

She observed the vegetables boiling alongside the water.

"HEY!"

The girl let out a faint screech as she breathed heavily from the surprise. Turning to the doorway, she saw Gabriel.

"Something is burning."

Her eyes widened in wonder, until she noticed block of carrot that fell next to the burner. She tried removing the ruined vegetable from there; first with her own bare hands – which obviously didn't work as she squirmed – and later successfully picking it with a fork. Turning to Gabriel again as soon as she catched it, Fareeha gave him an awkward smile.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm, uhh, cooking?

He keeps the same face.

"I can see that."

"Chickpeas..."

The man's arms are crossed as he approachs the balcony. "Weren't you arguing with Amari about how you hate chickpeas?"

Her eyes swing. "Well, it's healthier—"

"Why don't you make humus?"

Fareeha sighs, turning off the chickpeas burner and looking over Reyes. Unlike other agents, he always had his uniform worn, which seemed kind of weird to her. But it's no surprise to see this guy specifically being edgy. She chuckled to herself as she thought about it. _How can he cook in that?_

Until her thoughts were dissipated in front of her, Gabriel was already messing with the pot.

"Hey! Uncle, leave it to me! I need to make lunch!"

"You said you don't like chickpeas, right?"

"Uhmm..." Fareeha pouts, scratching her jaw. "I don't, but—"

He dumps the chickpeas in a drainer and throws the pot away in the balcony, making a loud noise that made Fareeha's eyes squeeze.

"Have you ever thought why?"

Quickly searching in the kitchen cabinets, the man sets another pot in the balcony, filling it with water and putting the chickpeas in.

"Wasn't it easier to use the water that was hot already?"

He gives the girl a glare that makes her shiver slightly. Closing the pot and putting it in the stoven right after, he crosses his arms.

"Have you thought about your answer?"

"Uhhh..."

Fareeha rests a finger in her lips, thoughtful.

"It is too hard!"

"If you don't cook them in pressure they will take forever to do so."

"Oh... so that is it!..."

"So" Gabriel approaches her, leaning down his torso. "What are we doing?"

Her eyes glimmer.

"Ohhh... I—I was going to make soup! But... it's not that tasty!"

"Well, I have a suggestion."

As he smiles, he starts handing Fareeha some ingredients. She starts choping them; handful of onions, pork, and other vegetables as Gabriel separately stir fry some of them. The scent roams over all the place and the man even starts humming quietly. He was caught by surprise as soon as the girl went up to pull his sleeves.

"Uncle Gabe! Where did you learn to cook?"

He sighs. "Well, it's been in the family."

"Why don't you cook here more often?"

Her big, puppy eyes shine as her gaze is set in the man. He scoffs.

"Why would I do that? It's not like anyone here cook for me."

"But mama said you have the best cooking here!... And she is very bad at it..."

"Yeah, everybody knows that for sure."

"And, and—" She waves her hands excitedly. "We are your family now!"

His eyes widen with the sudden words. The man pulls a smile in the corner of his lips, crouching next to Fareeha and laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Then I can cook for you."

A bright smirk takes place at the girl's face.

"... And for your mother."

"She'll be so happy—"

"But don't think I will cook in your place, smarthead."

He stands again, chuckling at the Fareeha's pouting face. "But mom doesn't like—"

The door suddenly opens with Ana and Reinhardt carrying a bag of groceries.

"Oh... Reyes. What are you... wait, what are you two doing?"

"I told you not to pick from the cafeteria."

"_Ahkrus_!"

"And what are you doing here? Going to cook?"

Reyes gives the woman a smug. Scoffing, she leaves her bags in the table. "Actually, Reinhardt will cook for us!"

"And who is teaching? You?"

"Do not understimate me, _kamerad_! I live by the word and legacy of my _gute alte Dame_!"

"Uncle Reyes make the best food ever! _Blehhh_!"

"Fareeha! Do not—"

"I shall make you change your mind, my little friend!"

_A faint sound whistles in the room._

Gabriel intimidatingly approaches the knight, leaning his hands in the balcony.

"So you really think that? What can you do? Currywurst?"

Reinhard glares at him with sharp eyes.

"Actually yes."

As Reyes scoffs, they start arguing with each other in not a too much of agressive manner. Fareeha kept spicing up things much to her mother's disapproval.

"Fareeha!" She grabs the girl by the arm, while the men's voices keep getting louder. "I told you already not too—"

The fire alarm goes off sudsenly, soaking everyone in the room. The vegetables are ruined.

Everyone in the room stared at each other.

"Wait" Gabriel eyes widen. "How long was that pressure cooker on—"

* * *

"Mom, did you know that you need to cook chickpeas in the pressure cooker?"

Ana caress her right eye with a bag of ice.

"Yes, _habibti_, I do."

"Then why didn't you said?"

She rolls her eyes. They are reunited in the hall's sofas, soaked entirely and with dishes of food.

"Reinhardt! Don't give that to her! She will have cramps!"

"The girl needs to build up Ana!"

"I don't think this is the way to do it."

"I think uncle Rein and Gabe should cook for us everyday!"

Ana chuckles, taking some fries and studding them in her mouth. "You two should open a restaurant after retiring."

"I'm more on a casual cooking. But you should do it, Reinhardt."

"I'LL NEVER! THE CRUSADER'S HONOR SHALL BE... HONORED!"

He lift his arm as Brigitte starts chuckling. Both Gabriel and Ana sighs, with the later chuckling.

"Oh, mama, mama!" Fareeha pulls her mother's sleeves as her eyes glimmers. "What about me? Can I open a restaurant?"

She smiles soflty, her swollen eye squeezing a little.

"Not by any chance."

* * *

_The knights then see themselves in the company of a large pot of soup. The bottom is a little burned up, but they don't care – they deeply appreciate the Reaper's act of generosity. The knights ate along in silence, just appreciating the moment. And in the night before that, they could cook for everyone in the village together, even teaching the only child in the village to do so! _

_And so they happily lived forever alongside the once so feared Reaper._


End file.
